Have you ever wanted to create your own website, whether for business or personal use, and just found it too daunting? If you are like me, you probably ran into two obstacles: lack of html knowledge, and/or inability to find an html editor (often called "what you see is what you get") that was user friendly. In fact, I tried so many editors that I got frustrated and quit, until I discovered tools that worked in the way that I needed for them to work. I would imagine that there are many people who are in the same predicament, and have not found what they need and do not want to spend weeks or months learning code in order to create a website for their family, hobby, or business. So, suffice it to say, that you simply need a good html editor and then you will be on the road to success. It turns out that there are some out there, but only one that I have found to do everything I need. It is a free download, and I have listed it under 'resources' at the end of this article. With an editor that really works, creating a website, uploading it and publishing it to the web is simple as can be. I quickly learned everything I needed to know just by experimenting with it. One of the best aspects of an html editor is that you can design pages just like you would in MS Word or Publisher, and then you publish it to the web. With a free editor the only cost will be purchasing your domain name (usually about nine dollars per month) and the cost of hosting your site with a hosting company, which again is minimal. I have since created a number of sites, the most involved being our church's website which you can view by going to www.faithharvestchurch.net simply to see that it can be done this way. If I can do it with my limited knowledge of web design, then so can anyone else with reasonable typing skills and computer savvy. With an html editor and the ability to create your own sites, you can create sites for family photos in about 30 minutes! You can create sites to display your own hobbies and interests, or tackle something as large as a site for you business including a storefront with merchant capabilities so that people can order your products online. Using this method of website building you can almost instantly create an online web business selling anything from information products to services and even physical goods. Or perhaps you want to tackle an information site to promote your own political, religious or philosophical ideals. Your imagination is the limit! Once you become proficient using this tool, you can even create sites for others for fun or profit. A good html editor allows you to also use html if you happen to have the knowledge and allows you to create flash sites and insert animated graphics and other design elements. I encourage you to get started today. You may search out some of the free editors that are listed online, but in my estimation the one that I have included under 'resources' is the missing piece to your successful website creation.

Resources: http://www.105westmain.com/myfavoritesitebuilder.html

About the author

Mark Hillis is a resident of Mesa, Az. He has been an artist, art instructor, newspaper manager and editor, newspaper founder, and has also served in various ministry roles.